Tag Archives: Outdoors

Heath Aster

Posted on November 27, 2013 by the roused bear

Heath aster, Aster ericoides, is a late-blooming small white flower that is attractive to a wide variety of late season pollinators. It forms a wonderful backdrop for small butterflies, bees, wasps, and a host of small flies. When it has … Continue reading →

Posted in plants | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Noon Walk Butterflies

Posted on November 13, 2013 by the roused bear

I take a walk over my lunch break, and I count butterflies as I am doing it.  Here are the results of this year’s surveys.  I saw 24 species, 943 total butterflies.  The species where I counted more than one … Continue reading →

Posted in butterflies, eastern tailed-blue | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Not So Many Butterflies

Posted on September 20, 2013 by the roused bear

Most years find September a great time for butterflies.  During a normal year, I would find dozens or hundreds of butterflies competing for the nectar resources of asters in my prairie. Tonight I only found three.  Two orange sulfurs and … Continue reading →

Posted in butterflies | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Great Spangled Fritillary

Posted on July 18, 2013 by the roused bear

One of our normally common large butterflies is the great spangled fritillary, Speyeria cybele.  This year they showed up later than normal, by about two weeks.  I had heard reports that they were numerous in southern Iowa, but had not … Continue reading →

Posted in butterflies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

More Chasing Butterflies

Posted on July 8, 2013 by the roused bear

I saw these black swallowtails from about 50 yards away, chasing each other.  Were they in a pre-mating display?  I don’t know.  Butterflies will chase after individuals of other species or a potential mate.  Maybe it takes the chase for … Continue reading →

Posted in butterflies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Good Year for Odonates

Posted on June 30, 2013 by the roused bear

This has not been a good year for butterflies so far–the numbers are way down from normal years.  There is a different story for the odonates–the dragonflies and damselflies. We have good numbers and variety. Odes can be difficult to … Continue reading →

Posted in damselflies, dragonflies, insects | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Mourning Cloak Butterfly

Posted on June 18, 2013 by the roused bear

I saw this butterfly a number of times before I was able to photograph it.  In fact, while I was chasing it, it landed on me several times.  I did not get a picture, but it flew close enough that … Continue reading →

Posted in butterflies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

First Butterfly Photo of the Year

Posted on May 18, 2013 by the roused bear

I got my first butterfly photo of the year today.  Here it is: It was a pretty underwhelming picture of a pearl crescent.  I have not seen pearl crescents this year until today, and they seem fairly thick now.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in butterflies, pearl crescent | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Waltzing Flies

Posted on April 24, 2013 by the roused bear

This winter, our dog Mackey discovered a dead deer (or maybe more than one) in the fields.  He brought pieces of it up to the yard.  It was pretty gross, and we tried to take these things away from him.  … Continue reading →

Posted in diptera, insects | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Social Bug People

Posted on April 7, 2013 by the roused bear

There have always been people who are interested in insects, and I have always counted myself as one of them.  It seems to me, though, that over the course of my life the social nature of activities related to insects … Continue reading →

Posted in insects | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment